Machine for slotting and driving springs into lock-tumblers



(No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 1.

G. B. OOWLES.

MACHINE FOR SLOTTING AND DRIVING SPRINGSINTO LOOK TUMBLERS.

Patented Oct. 9, 1883.

(No Model.) 4 Sheets1Sheet 2.

G. B. OOWLES.

MACHINE PORSLOTTING AND DRIVING SPRINGS INTO LOCK TUMBLERS. No. 286,269. Patented Oct. 9, 1883.

C I e w d if fi j,

W'ME55'E5 haze/vim",

(No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 3.

G. B. GOWLES. MACHINE FOR SLOTTING AND DRIVING SPRINGS INTO LOCK TUMBLERS.

Patented Oct. 9. 1883.

(No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 4.

G. B. OOWLES. MACHINE FOR SLOTTING AND DRIVING SPRINGS INTO LOOK TUMBLIERS. No.286,269. Patented Oct. 9, 1883.

NITED STATES PATENT @rricn.

GEORGE B OONVLES, OF NEW BRITAIN, CONNECTICUT.

MACHINE FOR SLOTTlNG AND DRIVING SPRINGS INTQ LOCK-TUMBLERS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 286,269, dated October 9., 1883,

Application filed June 12, 1883. (No model.)

T Mi whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, GEORGE E. GOWLEs, a citizen of the United States, residing at New Britain, in the county of Hartford and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Machines for Driving Springs into Lock-Tumblers, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in machines for slotting lock-tumblers and for driving the springs therein when fed from a continuous wire.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a plan view of my machine. view of a lock-tumbler with spring attached and bent. Fig. 2 is a vertical section of my machine through the line a x of Fig. 1. 'Fig. 3 is a vertical section on line 3 y of Fig. 1. Fig. 4. is a partial vertical section, partly in elevation, upon line 2 z of Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a plan view of detached parts, and Fig. 6 is a reversed plan view of a portion of my ma chine.

My said machine, in many of its parts and in its general mode of operation, is substan tially like the machine for driving springs into lock bolts and tumblers for which I have recently made application for Letters Patent of the United States.

This application is designed to cover only such features as are not embodied in the machine described in the prior application, and the combination thereof with other parts.

A designates the cam-shaft, bearing the several cams, of which a is the cam for driving the feeding mechanism 13, said feeding mechanism being the same as has heretofore been used upon machines for feeding wire a given length at a time. I propose to take flat wire in continuous lengths and pass it through this feeding mechanism 13, then through the stationary member b of the cutting-off or shearing mechanism.- The other member of the shearing mechanism consists of the plate 0, mounted upon the end of the shear-lever G,

which is actuated by the cam (1 upon the camshaft A, said cam being partially shown in the sectional view, Fig. 3, while the rest of its contour is indicated by the broken lines in said figure. From this shear mechanism the Fig. 1 is a plan ly-revolving head, E, the saine being mounted upon a circular bed or table, F, and caused to revolve intermittingly by means of the lever G, pawl g, pawl-carrier h, and ratchet-wheelv PLsubstantially as in my aforesaid applica tion, excepting that this lever, pawl, and ratchet-wheel are located upon the under side of the machine, instead of on the top. The lever G is operated in a direction to drive the pawl forward by means of the cam 7.1, while it is moved in the reverse direction by means of the spring Z. This lever, pawl, and ratchet move the head intermit-tingly one-eighth of a revolution at a time.

Upon the cam-shaft A is cam m, which acts upon a lever, K, to move it in one direction, while the spring it moves said lever in the opposite direction. The front end of thislever Ki s shown in Figs. 4 and 5, and it is turned upward and made narrow enough to fill any one of the slots 0 in the head E, and is driven into one of said slots at the end of each intermittent movement of the head, so as to lock the head firmly in place. Theupper surface of the upward extension of this lever K, which enters these slots, is of such height as to have its end flush with the top of the intermittingly-rotating head E, and thereby it closes said slot and forms the anvil or bed for supporting the tumblers while the springwire is being driven upon by means of the cam r to drive it forward,

- shown in Figs. 1 and 5.

while it is pulled backward by means of the pin' 8, acting upon the rear part of the yoke-'1, as shown most clearly in Fig. 2.

In order to adapt the head to roceivetum blers of varying sizes and forms, I provide said head with short pins or postsm, upon tion, so that they may be partially rotated to different positions on their axis, and held in the position in which they are adjusted by means of said screws. The star-plates M and N constitute the gages for governing the position of the tumblers. One corner of the tum bler will rest against one edge of the arms of the plate M,whi1e the arms of the plate N have downwardly-projecting pins near their ends, (the positions of which are indicated by broken circles in Figs. 1 and 5,) for gaging the position of the opposite corner of the tumblers. These star-plates can be adjusted so as to bring the part of the tumbler which is to be slotted directly over the slots in the head E. The guard-plate w is placed over a portion of the head E at a sufficient height above said head to allow the tumblers to pass under it. This plate is for the purpose of holding the tumblers down during the sawing and spring-driving operations.

P designates a curved lever, whose outer 3 5 end has a downwardlyextending pin or post which stands near the edge of the head E, as

lateral movement by means of the cam a.

The operation of my machine is as follows: After adjusting the gages M and N so as to hold the tumbler in proper position 011 the head E, as one tumbler is represented in Fig. 5, the operator fills the front side of the head with tumblers, and the head, under the action of the ratchet and pawl, moves around in the direction indicated by the dart in Fig. 1. 7 At the end of each intermittent movement the cam 1' drives the saw 0 forward to saw the slot in the tumbler, and the saw is returned by means of the crank-pin s and the yoke 15. At the next intermittent movement of the head the next tumbler is sawed in like manner, and so on; but for convenience of description I will follow only one tumbler through the machine. At the end of the second intermittent movement, and after being sawed, the tumbler is stopped under the driver 0. At this point (after the machine has been started) the springwire will be fed into the machine through the This lever is iven a cutting-off mechanism, through the slot in the under face of the driver 6, and directly over the slotted portion of the tumbler. The cam f then acts to drive the spring edgewise into the slot in the tumbler. The wire springs edgewise between the tumbler and the shear mechanism sufficiently to allow this driving action to take place. The cam (1 then acts to out off the wire. At the next intermittent movement of the tumbler the feeding mechanism causes a length of wire sufficient for another spring to project from the shear mechanism again, and as the tumbler, with the spring driven into it, passes the outwardly- .projecting pin on the end of the curved lever P the spring is partially bent around the end of the tumbler, and the head E stops with the tumbler a little past the end of the lever, as shown in Fig. 5. The cam a then acts to force this curved end and lever inward a little, and give a still farther bend to the tumbler-spring, and leaves it substantially in the position represented in Fig. 1. As soon as the tumbler comes to the front of the machine the operator removes it. and substitutes another tumbler therefor, and the operation is repeated so long as may be desired.

I claim as my'invention 1. The combination of the intermittinglyrevolving head, the saw mounted upon a reciprocating carriage, mechanism for feeding the spring-wire, for driving the springs, for cutting off the wire, and suitable operating mechanism, substantially as described, and for the purpose specified.

2. The combination of the intermittinglyrevolving head, provided with suitable means for holding the tumblers thereon, mechanism for sawing the tumblers thus held, and mech anism for driving the springs into the slotted tumblers, substantially as described, and for the purpose specified.

3. The combination of the intermittinglv revolving and slotted head, mechanism for sawing slots in the tumblers, the spring-driving mechanism, the lever K, having its end fitted to fill the slots in the head and to act as an anvil for the driving mechanism, and suitable operating mechanism, substantially as described, and for the purpose specified.-

4. The combination of the head E, bearing pins a, and the adjustable gage-plates M and N, substantially as described, and for the pur pose specified.

anon-en B. COWLES.

\Vitnesses:

JAMES SHEPARD, JOHN EDWARDS, J 

